Renault shows off self-driving car that can avoid obstacles as well as pro test drivers

French carmaker Renault has developed technology that enables self-driving cars to avoid obstacles in emergency situations at up to the same speeds as professional test drivers. TechCrunch had the chance to see it in action a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty impressive.

During the demo, I tried to avoid the obstacles at just 23 mph and ended up driving over a cone. Meanwhile, the car in autonomous mode was able to successfully avoid the obstacles and the cones at 27 mph.

"The technology really is inspired by professional test drivers," Shad Laws, autonomous driving lead at Renault Open Innovation Lab, told TechCrunch. "Despite popular belief, our feeling is that humans are actually pretty amazing drivers. In most developed countries, they can do less than one fatality per 100 million miles. That’s really hard to beat. However, meeting and beating that benchmark is essential to ensure safety and realize the dreams of our autonomous cars."